Potosi, Wisconsin
Encyclopedia
Grant County, Wisconsin
Grant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 49,597. Its county seat is Lancaster. Estimates for 2008 show a population of 49,238...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 711 at the 2000 census. The village is in the Town of Potosi
Potosi (town), Wisconsin
Potosi is a town in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 831 at the 2000 census. The Village of Potosi is located within the town...
.
Claim to fame
Known as "the Catfish Capital of Wisconsin," the village holds an annual Catfish Festival and Fireman's Fish Fry, typically on the 2nd weekend of August. The event includes a truck and tractor pull, beanbag and a euchre tournament, fireworks, live music, a parade, and the fish fry. The National Brewery Museum and Library opened in the village on the site of the Potosi Brewery in 2008. The museum features historic beer and brewing memorabilia, including signs, advertisements, bottles, cans, and miscellaneous paraphernalia.Local road signs herald Potosi's Main Street as "the longest Main Street in the world." A newspaper article traces the claim to a 1950s item in Ripley's Believe It Or Not which made the more qualified statement that it is the longest Main Street without a cross street. Current maps show a three-mile stretch, with numerous streets--including one named "Cross Street"--that drain into it and end, forming T-shaped intersections, but no street that continues across it. The stretch is divided into two portions each with a distinct street name: North Main Street and South Main Street.
Geography
Potosi is located at 42°40′53"N 90°43′12"W (42.68154, -90.720247).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the village has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.3 km²), of which, 1.6 square miles (4.3 km²) of it is land and 0.61% is water.
History
Potosi is located where Wisconsin's lead oreGalena
Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important lead ore mineral.Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms...
belt intersects with the Mississippi. The post office (1837 to present) was originally located between Van Buren and Head of the Hollow, then at Van Buren, then at La Fayette. In 1839, the leaders of three settlements (Snake Hollow, sometimes called Head of the Hollow, Van Buren, and La Fayette) decided to combine the villages. The new, larger community was named Potosi, and the post office moved one last time, to the center of the new, merged community.
There are several explanations for the origin of the name Potosi, but the correct one is unknown. One explanation is that Potosi is a corruption of "Potosa," the name of the wife of Julien Dubuque
Julien Dubuque
Julien Dubuque was a French Canadian from the area of Champlain, Quebec who arrived near what now is known as Dubuque, Iowa - which was named after him. He was one of the first men to settle in the area. He initially received permission from the Meskwaki Native American tribe to mine the lead in...
, an early settler in the area. Another explanation is that Potosi was named for Potosi, Missouri
Potosi, Missouri
Potosi is a city in Washington County, Missouri, United States. Potosi is about 10 miles north of Belgrade. The estimated population in July 2008 was 2,698. It was 2,662 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Washington County...
, where a lot of the early lead miners originated. Many mining towns are named Potosi
Potosi
- Places :Bolivia* Potosí, a city, an important mining spot during the Spanish colonial rule* Potosí Department, a department* Huayna Potosí, a mountainColombia* Potosí, Nariño a town and municipalityJamaica* Potosi, Trelawny, JamaicaMexico...
, ultimately derived from the fabled silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mines of Potosí
Potosí
Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...
, Bolivia.
Potosi was the home of the Potosi Brewing Company, makers of "Good Old Potosi Beer," from 1852 to 1972. A brewery restoration project has begun to preserve the history and tradition of the company. The National Brewery Museum opened inside the premises of the defunct brewery in 2008.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 711 people, 302 households, and 199 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 432.1 people per square mile (166.4/km²). There were 320 housing units at an average density of 194.5 per square mile (74.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.02% White, and 0.98% from two or more races. 0.98% of the population were Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
of any race.
There were 302 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the village the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $35,294, and the median income for a family was $47,955. Males had a median income of $28,478 versus $25,982 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the village was $17,189. About 4.9% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
- Edward John DornEdward John DornEdward J. Dorn was a captain in the United States Navy. He was born in Potosi, Wisconsin and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1874. In 1901, Dorn was briefly acting-Commandant of American Samoa while Commandant Benjamin Franklin Tilley was away on leave...
- United States Naval Governor of Guam - William Josiah MacDonaldWilliam Josiah MacDonaldWilliam Josiah MacDonald was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.MacDonald was born in Potosi, Wisconsin. He attended the common schools and graduated from the high school at Fairmont, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis and Georgetown Law School in...
- U.S. Representative from MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake".... - Fred A. ThomasFred A. ThomasFred A. Thomas was a politician in the State of Montana.-Biography:Thomas was born on May 26, 1865 in Potosi, Wisconsin and died on June 12, 1958 in Stevensville, Montana. His grandson, also named Fred, would serve in the Montana State Senate.-References:...
- MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
State Representative - Keith KrepfleKeith KrepfleKeith Robert Krepfle is a former American football tight end who played for eight seasons in the National Football League. He played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1975–1981 and the Atlanta Falcons in 1982. He was selected by the Eagles in the fifth round of the 1974 NFL Draft...
NFL football player Tightend for Philadelphia Eagles
External links
- Potosi - Tennyson Chamber of Commerce
- Baumann, Elda Ottelie. "The history of Potosi", Wisconsin Magazine Of History, 23:1 (1939–1940), 44-57.